If you want to reduce food waste, save money on groceries, and learn about easy and practical food preservation, this conversation with Kris Bordessa is a great place to start. In this episode, I’m joined by Kris Bordessa, author of Attainable Sustainable and Attainable Sustainable Pantry, to talk about ‘old-fashioned’ kitchen skills that are still incredibly useful in modern life. We talk about using what you already have before heading back to the grocery store, stocking a more useful pantry, preserving seasonal abundance, and why safe canning matters. Kris also shares why these skills are not just for homesteaders or preppers. They are practical tools that can help ordinary households stretch food budgets, reduce waste, and feel more capable when life gets unpredictable. This conversation is about building a more sustainable kitchen in a way that feels realistic, not overwhelming. You do not need to preserve everything, make every pantry staple from scratch, or completely change the way you cook. But learning a few simple sustainable habits in the kitchen can make low waste living feel more doable. Takeaways Starting with what you already have in your fridge, freezer, and pantry can help you reduce food waste, save money on groceries, and avoid unnecessary grocery runs.A more useful pantry does not have to be complicated. Staples like beans, grains, broth, potatoes, onions, garlic, and oil can make flexible cooking easier.Food preservation can start small. Freezing, quick pickling, dehydrating herbs, making herb salts, and preserving in salt or oil are all practical ways to use seasonal abundance.Safe canning matters. Water bath canning and pressure canning are used for different foods, and trusted, tested recipes are important.You do not need to make everything from scratch. Some things, like salad dressing, may be worth making at home, while others, like tomato paste, may not be worth the time.Preparedness does not have to mean fear-based prepping. A stocked pantry and the skills to use it can help ordinary households feel more capable when routines, budgets, or supply chains are disrupted.Self-reliance does not mean doing everything alone. Sharing food, recipes, tools, and skills is part of building more resilient communities.One Small Shift Before your next grocery shop, start with what you already have. Take a few minutes to look through your fridge, freezer, and pantry, and choose one or two things that need to be used before you bring more food into the house. Maybe it’s leftover rice, soft fruit, wilting vegetables, or something you bought with good intentions and then forgot about. If you want a little more guidance, my Simple Kitchen Audit is a good place to start. It’s a 10-page workbook that walks you through what’s working in your kitchen, where food and packaging waste are creeping in, and what small changes could help your kitchen feel more organized, lower-waste, and easier to use. Connect With Kris Attainable Sustainable: The Lost Art of Self-Reliant Living (book) Attainable Sustainable Pantry: A Back-to-Basics Guide to Stocking Your Kitchen (book) Website Facebook Pinterest Instagram Related Blog Posts A Beginner’s Guide to a Sustainable Kitchen How to Use Beeswax Wraps (Plastic Free Food Storage) Plastic Free Pantry — How to Refill in Your Own Containers Creating a Sustainable Kitchen: 11 Ways to Reuse Food Scraps Related Podcast Episodes Ep. 13: Plastic Free Food Storage with Hive to Home Ep. 38: Things I Don’t Buy Anymore Ep. 45: How to Spend Less on Groceries by Reducing Food Waste Support the show Connect With Me Website Newsletter Shop Instagram Support the Show Sustainable in the Suburbs is mixed and edited by Cardinal Studio If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love it if you followed the show, shared it with a friend, or left a rating and review. Every little bit helps more people find Sustainable in the Suburbs — and live a little greener.
